Economy-wide material flow-based indicators

A large number of resource-use indicators can be derived from economy-wide material flow accounts. These indicators can be grouped into (a) input, (b) output, (c) consumption and (d) trade indicators. The main input and consumption indicators, which are most frequently applied in MFA studies on the national level, are illustrated in the following figure (Eurostat, 2013).

Main input indicators:

Direct Material Input (DMI) comprises all materials with economic value which are directly used in production and consumption activities. DMI equals the sum of domestic extraction and direct imports.

Total Material Requirement (TMR) includes - in addition to RMI - unused domestic extraction (UDE) and the unused extraction related to the RMEs of imports (IMP RME-UDE). TMR is thus the most comprehensive material input indicator, comprising all types of input flows.

Main consumption indicators:

Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) measures the total quantity of materials used within an economic system, excluding indirect flows. Thus DMC is the closest equivalent to aggregate income in the conventional system of national accounts. DMC is calculated by subtracting direct exports from DMI.

Total Material Consumption (TMC), in addition to RMC, also accounts for the unused extraction related to RMEs of both imports and exports. TMC equals TMR minus exports, their RMEs and related UDE.

Main trade indicators:

Physical Trade Balance (PTB) expresses whether direct material imports from abroad exceed direct material exports of a country or world region and thus illustrates to what extent domestic material consumption is based on domestic resource extraction or on imports from abroad.

Raw Material Trade Balance (PTB) includes, in addition to the PTB, also the RMEs of imports and exports.

Other MFA indicators include the following:

Domestic Processed Output (DPO) equals the flow „outputs to nature“ and comprises all outflows of used materials from domestic or foreign origin. DPO includes emissions to air and water, wastes deposited in landfills and dissipative flows.

Net Additions to Stock (NAS) reflect the physical growth of the economy, i.e. the net expansion of the stock of materials in buildings, infrastructures and durable goods. NAS may be calculated indirectly as the balancing item between the flow of materials entering the economy minus those leaving it, taking into account the appropriate items for balancing. NAS may also be calculated directly as gross additions to material stocks, minus removals (such as construction and demolition wastes and disposed durable goods, excluding materials recycled).